This past Thursday, the US House of Representatives passed the “Transitional Housing for Recovery in Viable Environments Demonstration Act of 2018” (H.R. 5735), also known as the THRIVE Act, with a vote of 230-173.
The THRIVE Act is a plan to create a transitional housing program for individuals recovering from opioid addiction or other substance abuse disorders. The proposal utilizes the Section 8 Housing Voucher program to allocate the least costly amount of either 10,000 vouchers or 0.5% of total annual vouchers, to transitional housing providers for the fiscal year. To ensure adequate housing standards, the bill requires eligible providers to demonstrate intent to provide evidence-based treatment programs and prior experience in administering similar kinds of affordable transitional housing programs. In addition, an entity receiving vouchers must be a nonprofit organization or a tribally designated housing entity. The program is intended to expire in 5 years after enactment into law.
H.R. 5735 is sponsored by Representative Andy Barr (R-KY), and is co-sponsored by ten other Republican Representatives. Voting was split across party lines, with only 12 Democrats voting in favor of the bill, likely due to disagreement on the potential effectiveness of the legislation. On Monday, it was received in the Senate and referred to the Committee of Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Other bipartisan opioid-related legislation is being introduced in the Senate this week, and these sorts of actions battling the opioid epidemic are certainly on the legislative agenda.
